Fall is when this crossing changes character. Through the summer, from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day, the operator normally puts both of its boats on the bay and a car can leave either shore every 45 minutes. Once Labor Day passes, one boat comes off the route and the other works it alone, so the gap between departures from the same landing doubles to ninety minutes. That is the table in force on this page until October 31, 2026. The next step comes with the end of daylight saving time on November 1, when the evening round trip, 18:30 from the island and 19:15 back from Fort Morgan, disappears until the clocks go forward again in March.
For a day trip that arithmetic decides everything. In October you can leave Dauphin Island at 08:00 and still catch the 19:15 home from Fort Morgan; from November the last boat back leaves at 17:45. The ferry itself does not change: roughly 40 minutes on open water, a ticket bought at the booth, and no way to reserve a place.
The service belongs to the state road network in all but name. The Alabama Department of Transportation contracts it and City Ferry runs it, the same arrangement ALDOT uses on the Alabama River at Gee's Bend. Fares are paid in US dollars at a booth on each shore, and for anything unusual the operator's advice is to phone its Dauphin Island office.
Eight round trips a day until the clocks change, seven after
Every day through October 31, 2026 (one boat)
| From Dauphin Island Loading Dock | From Fort Morgan Loading Dock |
|---|---|
| 08:00 | 08:45 |
| 09:30 | 10:15 |
| 11:00 | 11:45 |
| 12:30 | 13:15 |
| 14:00 | 14:45 |
| 15:30 | 16:15 |
| 17:00 | 17:45 |
| 18:30 | 19:15 |
Every day from November 1, 2026 to March 13, 2027 (one boat)
| From Dauphin Island Loading Dock | From Fort Morgan Loading Dock |
|---|---|
| 08:00 | 08:45 |
| 09:30 | 10:15 |
| 11:00 | 11:45 |
| 12:30 | 13:15 |
| 14:00 | 14:45 |
| 15:30 | 16:15 |
| 17:00 | 17:45 |
The operator defines both tables by daylight saving time: the fall table runs from after Labor Day until DST ends (Sunday, November 1, 2026, so through October 31), and the winter table until DST returns on March 14, 2027 (so through March 13, 2027). Read from mobilebayferry.com on October 1, 2026. Mobile Bay Ferry — Ferry Schedule · 2026-10-01
Six dollars a head for the whole day, plus the car each way
The fare is built from two pieces that behave differently. Every person on board, driver included, pays $6.00, and that single payment covers all of that person's rides on the same day, provided the receipt comes back with them. The vehicle, on the other hand, pays each way. A car under 22 feet making a same-day round trip therefore costs $21.00 on the outbound trip and $15.00 on the return, with the people riding free the second time.
There is no round-trip ticket and nothing is sold in advance. Children three and under and pets ride free, and a bicycle adds nothing to the walk-on fare.
| Driver or passenger, each | $ 6 |
| Pedestrian, with or without a bicycle | $ 6 |
| Child 3 and under | Free |
| Pet | Free |
| Car, trailer or RV under 22 ft | $ 15 |
| Car, trailer or RV 22 ft and over | $ 20 |
| Motorcycle | $ 7 |
| Car under 22 ft with driver | $ 21 |
| Same car with driver and two passengers | $ 33 |
| Same car with driver and four passengers | $ 45 |
| Same car coming back the same day, receipt shown | $ 15 |
Fares as published by the operator, undated, read on October 1, 2026 Mobile Bay Ferry — Pricing · 2026-10-01
Two state highways that end at a ticket booth
Both landings are a booth, staging lanes and a ramp. The operator asks drivers to arrive 30 minutes to an hour before departure, longer in summer; with one boat on the route, a missed departure now costs 90 minutes rather than 45.
Dauphin Island Loading Dock
The Dauphin Island dock is at the east end of the island, the same end as Fort Gaines, the Sea Lab and the Audubon Bird Sanctuary. Coming from Mobile you reach it by State Road 193 and the high bridge: the road ends at a three-way stop by the water tower, where you turn left and drive about two miles east.
Tickets are sold at the landing itself. Nothing is sold online or in advance, and there is no reservation list, so the order in which cars reach the staging lanes is the order in which they board.
Fort Morgan Loading Dock
On the Baldwin County side the landing sits beside the historic fort at the tip of Mobile Point, where State Road 180 runs out of land. From Highway 59 it is roughly 25 miles west along West Fort Morgan Road, a single road with the ferry at its end, so leave margin on the clock if you are aiming for a particular boat.
The postal address says Gulf Shores, although the town itself is back at the Highway 59 end of the road. The ticket booth here works exactly like the one on the island.
Across the mouth of Mobile Bay, from Fort Gaines to Fort Morgan
On the map the gap looks short, but without the boat, getting from Dauphin Island to the Fort Morgan peninsula means driving north to Mobile, around the head of the bay and back down the Baldwin County side. The ferry joins State Road 193 on the island to State Road 180 on Mobile Point, two state highways that both end at the water. State Road A1A has the same kind of break at the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, where JTA's five-minute car ferry from Mayport carries the highway across.
The route crosses the entrance to the bay between the two forts that guarded it. It is open water rather than a sheltered channel, and the operator makes every sailing conditional on the weather.
Planning the crossing around one boat, the tide and the booth
- Low clearance? Look at the tide
At some stages of the tide the ramps cause clearance problems for certain cars, RVs, boats and trailers. The operator points drivers of low vehicles to NOAA tide predictions and to its office on (251) 861-3000.
- Long rigs should phone first
Anything over 21 feet should call ahead for loading instructions. The Marissa Mae Nicole cannot take trailers, motorhomes, campers or boats over 10 feet, and the daily Facebook post names the length limit on the boat that is running. Tractor-trailers, fuel trucks and commercial buses are not carried at all.
- Keep the receipt for the ride back
Passengers ride free on a same-day return only with the morning's receipt; the vehicle pays $15.00 again. Lose the slip and everyone pays.
- Shoes on, even for the dog
The decks carry an abrasive coating that can pass 135 degrees in summer. Footwear is compulsory, and the operator asks owners not to let pets onto the deck in hot weather without paw protection. Dogs must be leashed outside the car.
- Three days with no ferry
The service stays in port on Thanksgiving Day (November 26), Christmas Day (December 25) and New Year's Day (January 1) this season.
A state road link that ALDOT buys rather than runs
Mobile Bay opens to the Gulf between a barrier island and a long sand spit, and the only other way between the two shores is round the top of the bay through Mobile. The roads on either side are ALDOT's, and so is the contract for the boat; City Ferry supplies the crews and runs the vessels day to day, while the fare table stays short enough to fit on one screen.
The two vessels do not have the same limits, and that is the detail worth knowing before you hitch up a trailer. On the Fort Morgan the maximum weight per vehicle is 50,000 pounds; the Marissa Mae Nicole cannot take trailers, motorhomes, campers or boats longer than 10 feet. Which boat is working on a given day is not printed in the timetable. The operator announces daily changes on its Facebook page, and on September 30, 2026 the post there read that one ferry was running and that it could take RVs and trailers up to 28 feet. Louisiana's Belle Chasse–Scarsdale boat across the Mississippi has the same catch: its regular vessel carries rigs of up to 60 feet, and the two boats that can stand in are listed with shorter ones.
Two boats on the roster, one on the water until Memorial Day
Mobile Bay Ferry questions from both ends of SR 180 and SR 193
In October, how late can I leave Fort Morgan for Dauphin Island?
Until October 31, 2026 the last departure from Fort Morgan is 19:15 and the last from Dauphin Island is 18:30. From November 1, when daylight saving time ends, those two sailings are dropped and the last boats become 17:00 from the island and 17:45 from Fort Morgan.
What will a car with a driver and two passengers pay to cross?
$33.00 one way for a car under 22 feet: $15.00 for the vehicle plus $6.00 each for the driver and the two passengers. If you return the same day with the receipt, the three people ride free and only the $15.00 for the car is charged.
Can I buy Mobile Bay Ferry tickets online or save a place?
No. You can buy tickets only in person at the Dauphin Island and Fort Morgan landings, and neither boat takes reservations. Cars are loaded first come, first served, which is why the operator suggests reaching the dock 30 minutes to an hour early.
Will my RV or boat trailer fit on the ferry this fall?
That comes down to the boat and the tide. The operator asks anyone over 21 feet to call (251) 861-3000 first; the Marissa Mae Nicole takes no trailers or campers longer than 10 feet, and at some tides low vehicles scrape on the ramps. The daily Facebook post gives the length limit for the boat that is running that day.
Is the walk-on fare worth it for a round trip by bicycle?
Yes: a pedestrian pays $6.00 once, the bicycle travels at no extra charge, and the receipt covers every ride that day, so the trip back to the island costs nothing more.
Is the Mobile Bay Ferry open on Thanksgiving or over Christmas?
It stays at the dock on Thanksgiving Day, on Christmas Day and on New Year's Day, which in this season fall on November 26, December 25 and January 1. On every other day it runs if the weather allows.